This is a blog to keep you updated on how my summer internship in Cuiaba, Brasil is going. Be sure to check out the picture slide show on the side bar to see my pictures from this summer! I am excited to see what the Lord is going to do, and hope what I post on here will be a blessing and an encouragement to everyone who reads it!

Friday, July 1, 2011

Dan Dan The Animal Man

Today we went out into the Pantanal region about 3 hours away from Cuiaba. The Pantanal is a flood plain that is completely covered by water during the rainy season. However, during the dry season, it is a beautiful place filled with all kinds of animals! We basically drove 2 1/2 hours into the middle of nowhere, took a left on a dirt road and drove another 40 min until the end of the road and then we had arrived.

I started out my day by fishing for Piranha! It was a whole lot of fun! I did not use a fishing pole, instead I used fishing line still on the roll with a hook and sinker on the end. By the end of the day I had caught 6 Piranha. I will be putting the pictures on the bottom of this post as well as on Facebook and Picasa.

After lunch I decided to head out on my own and do some exploring around the property. So I headed out on my own to search for some alligators and wild birds. I walked and walked, but hadn't found any alligators. I finally spotted a beautiful bird and went to take a picture of it. I was about to take a picture when there were two big splashes 2 feet to my left. I looked just in time to see two alligators jumping into the water! They startled me, which scared the bird, so in the end I didn't get the picture of the bird or the alligators. Oh well! It was amazing to actually be out in the wild though and to think I was 2 feet from alligators! I loved it and wish that I could go back.

By the end of the day I had seen several alligators, hundreds of birds, and lots of bugs! All in all it was a great day! Be sure to check out the pictures below and the full collection of them on Facebook and Picasa!

Humongous Lilly Pads!

Joshua and Jonathon playing in the dirt

Mahalia in her mosquito net :-) Sooo Cute!

Fishing for Piranha!

Mr. Duarte and I went out to catch some minnow to use as bait for fishing.

My First Piranha :-) We actually kept this one to eat!

These bats were in the tree above us almost all day and we didn't even notice them!